Hi everyone happy new year! It's been awhile for me posting here. I missed you all.

I feel indifferent that hockey is back. What took them so long to do this? Fans can do what they want but IMHO we need to send a message to the league. We are not sheep. If you play we will not come. Let the league feel the wrath of the fans. They take us for granted. They assume no matter we will come back. For me it will be a long day before i ever attend a regular season game again.

The league needs a reality check. They need to do the following to prove they get it!

1) Remove bettman and fehr asap2) Shorten the season - It's too long start the season in december3) Contract - Too many teams two teams in fla really? Phoenix? Columbus - great arena but will they ever compete?4) Change playoff format - Why not give the division winners a bye in the first round?

I will be a pens fan but for the regular season i will be a casual observer. The regular season is a grind. The playoffs have shown all you have to do is make the playoffs. The seeds mean nothing.

A quick thought on the pens having a heathly sid and geno are huge but the pens have major questions marks. Their defense is spotty. Having paul martin is not a plus. MAF needs to step up and play like he did when the pens won the cup.

The pens still don't have a winger for sid. This should have been a priority! Losing staal will hurt the pens deeply. I don't care how good sutter is he is no jordan staal.

Good luck pens and for all those who go the games i salute you. See you all around playoff time.

1) Remove bettman and fehr asap2) Shorten the season - It's too long start the season in december3) Contract - Too many teams two teams in fla really? Phoenix? Columbus - great arena but will they ever compete?4) Change playoff format - Why not give the division winners a bye in the first round?

1. Owners love Bettman for being the guy that gets the job done. Besides, who else would take the abuse that he gets and still returns with a smile? I predict two years from now he retires. Only so much hate before it damages the body and mind. Fehr goes before then.

2. If you shorten the season, East Coast US and Canadian fans can't go the early games in shorts. Hockey Sweaters and Shorts. A total fashion statement.

3. Will Florida, Phoenix, Columbus ever compete? At what? Florida made it to the Cup Finals, PHX was there till the end last season, and Columbus is still new in NHL years. If you want to contract based on performance, wouldn't Toronto be the first to go???

4. Momentum. Once you get a hot streak, you run with it. A first-round bye puts you on the shelf for up to two weeks. Just enough time to nurse injuries and lose a hot streak.

Fine i can take the heat. You mean you are not mad at the league? They are back so we will come running back? Why? This is what they want and expect. I hope the arenas are half empty. The only arena that should sellout is the kings. They won the cup they deserve to celebrate. Don't reward the NHL for their ignorance.

If they play, and the quality is there, people will come. An article in today's P-G said that the Pens had 45 season ticket holders cancel due to the strike. If you figure each account averages 2 tickets, that is 90 tickets out of 16,000 season tickets sold - less than 1%. The markets that typically struggle will still do so, especially where there are other options like the NBA. But in places like Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Chicago, all of Canada - the fans will be back. The NBA, NFL, and MBL have gone through stoppages before and eventually returned as strong as ever. Once the games begin I think most fans will forget that the stike ever happened.

The shortened season will be an interesting change and every game now is more meaningful. Drop the Puck!!!

I am disgusted with the league, the players, and just about everyone involved in the disaster that was the last six months. That being said, I am going to come back and watch and pay attention just like I would any other year, although I probably won't attend any games this season for the first time in years.

The fact is, hardcore fans, like the kind that post on hockey message boards, will come back.

joe wrote:Fine i can take the heat. You mean you are not mad at the league? They are back so we will come running back? Why? This is what they want and expect. I hope the arenas are half empty. The only arena that should sellout is the kings. They won the cup they deserve to celebrate. Don't reward the NHL for their ignorance.

Why would I, or yourself for that matter, be mad? There is a season. A sprint race that should have meaning every game. Something, interestingly enough, you are advocating. I will go to every game I want to. Not because I want to give the players or owners money, but because I am a fan of the Penguins and there is nothing more entertaining than being at a game IMO. So, I am not rewarding anyone but myself. I will not punish myself because of the supposed greediness of the sides. Business is business.

shafnutz05 wrote:I am disgusted with the league, the players, and just about everyone involved in the disaster that was the last six months. That being said, I am going to come back and watch and pay attention just like I would any other year, although I probably won't attend any games this season for the first time in years.

The fact is, hardcore fans, like the kind that post on hockey message boards, will come back.

People at work know me as "the hockey guy", so on conference calls today, I had to explain my position that while I am very happy that the NHL is going to play this season, I will not pay to see a game due to the grief they caused. One guy in ATL said he hasn't been back to a MLB game since they had replacement players. Yikes, he's old! I hope the league never makes me that angry.

Yeah, that's just it. I just don't feel like making the trip from Philly this year, and I guess if you want to call that my little mini-protest against the league, there you have it. I'm also not ordering Center Ice this year, which I have ordered for the last three years running. Probably going to rely on radio feeds/Philly feeds/national feeds, which I have been loathe to do in recent years.

I will not attend a game this year, but that's only because my annual business/fun trip to Pittsburgh is in October. I agree with the seniment that I'd love to send a message, but I won't and I'll be watching from day one - like always.